History of Tibet
It was only until the start of 7th century when the people of Tibet first called themselves Tibetan. Following that recognition, Tibet was unified by the rise of the Yarlung Dynasty, also known as Tubo Kingdom. Since then, Tibet turned into a hostile land of power.
Tibet expanded its power when the ruler of Tubo Dynasty subjugated other tribes. The first Tibetan dynasty was then founded and the culture, religion, technology, arts, and other social and political bodies in Tibet were developed. These were given attention actually when Songstsen Gampo, the King of Tubo started to communicate with other countries in the world. It is interesting to know that in the history of Tibet, King Gampo has made several contributions to Tibet and when he married the princesses of Nepal and Tang, he carried with them several other advanced developments in different fields. Buddhism was also introduced to Tibet.
Buddhism was then embraced by the people and several temples for worship were built. These temples were also used to preserve and protect the sacred icons of Sakyamuni. The Polata Palace, which is known until today, was also built and it is interested to know that following these developments in the history of Tibet, more and more people embraced the religion, including the successors of the king.
In 1042, the Tibetan Buddhism was revived. Several branches and sub-branches emerged each debating and searching for patrons amongst the conflicting principalities. It was also during this time in the history of Tibet when the Mongol Empire came to power, and aggressively expanded. That time, the most powerful sect of Buddhism was the Sakyapa or Stripe sect. Knowing this fact, the emperor of Mongol agreed with the leader of the sect who helped him became the leader of Tibet. As expected, Tibet developed into an appendage of the Mongolian Empire.
Several other dynasties emerged following the Mongolian Empire. There emerged the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Manchurian Qing dynasties; each has its own contribution to the history of Tibet and its people. Tibet was considered as one of the 13 states of China during the Yuan Dynasty, and it was during the Ming Dynasty when Dalai Lamas and Panchen Lamas stepped into the political arenas.
In the history of Tibet, it was in 1965 when the Tibet Autonomous Region was established. It was also that time that Tibet started to open its doors to visitors from around the world. This still continues to these days.
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